1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication system for a vehicle and a vehicle accessory operation system that utilizes the communication system for a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many currently used vehicle accessories are electronically controlled. For example, an electric retraction type door mirror device of a vehicle is structured such that a door mirror is automatically retracted by operation of a door mirror operation switch.
In the conventional art, wire harnesses are used to maintain electric connection states of these various vehicle accessories.
It is predicted that electrification of vehicle accessory will continue to progress. Accordingly, if sending and receiving of signals are performed by use of wire harnesses, as hitherto, there will arise a problem of the number of wire harnesses increasing. Accordingly, there will be problems in that cost increases due to the number of parts increasing and the number of assembly processes increasing, weight becomes heavier, space in a vehicle becomes smaller, design is constrained, and the like.
In order to maximally reduce usage of wire harnesses, a sending and receiving signal system that uses electric waves has been proposed. However, in a sending and receiving signal system that uses the electric waves, in general, costs of electric waves-related parts, such as a transmitter and a receiver, are expensive. Thus, cost becomes higher, and the cost tends to exceed the benefits.
The present invention takes the facts mentioned above into consideration, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system for a vehicle which can achieve maximum elimination of wire harnesses at low cost, and a vehicle accessory operation system that utilizes the communication system for a vehicle.
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system for a vehicle, the communication system comprising: an inner view mirror provided with a first infrared ray projecting/receiving section that is capable of at least one of projecting and receiving an infrared ray; and at least one vehicle accessory other than the inner view mirror, which vehicle accessory is provided with a second infrared ray projecting/receiving section that is capable of at least one of projecting and receiving an infrared ray and that is disposed so as to communicate with the inner view mirror.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the inner view mirror is provided with the first infrared ray projecting and receiving section. The first infrared ray projecting and receiving section can project or receive infrared rays. Also, at least one vehicle accessory other than the inner view mirror is provided with the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section. The second infrared ray projecting and receiving section can project or receive infrared rays. Accordingly, communication between the inner view mirror and the vehicle accessory can be made possible by including communicative content in the infrared ray.
Accordingly, in the present invention, bearing in mind advantages of the inner view mirror (namely, the inner view mirror is characterized by being located in a position such that the infrared rays are unlikely to be blocked (the infrared rays projected therefrom or received thereat are unlikely to be blocked), and in a position which is relatively close to the positions of the various vehicle accessories), the above mentioned communication system for a vehicle between the inner view mirror and the one or more vehicle accessories is achieved. Accordingly, it is possible to eliminate the wire harnesses, which are needed in the conventional communication system for a vehicle, are not required.
Also, in the present embodiment, because the communication system for a vehicle is achieved by use of infrared rays, the cost can be kept lower than with a similar communication system for a vehicle in which electric waves are used.
In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle accessory operating system of a vehicle, wherein the vehicle has a communication system which includes an inner view mirror provided with a first infrared ray projecting/receiving section that is capable of at least one of projecting and receiving an infrared ray, and which includes at least one vehicle accessory other than the inner view mirror, which vehicle accessory is provided with a second infrared ray projecting/receiving section that is capable of at least one of projecting and receiving an infrared ray and that is disposed so as to communicate with the inner view mirror, at least one of the inner view mirror and the vehicle accessory is provided with an operating device, and
the operating device is operated by utilization of the communication system.
Communication between the inner view mirror and the one or two or more vehicle accessories in accordance with the second aspect of the present invention as described below would be possible with wire harnessless.
For example, a steering switch is disposed at a steering wheel. Also, an infrared ray projecting section is provided at the steering wheel. An operation device, which is a display device or a drive device for a mirror angle adjustment device or the like, and an infrared ray receiving section are provided at the inner view mirror. When a driver seated on a seat of the vehicle operates the steering switch, an infrared ray is projected from the infrared ray projecting section toward the inner view mirror. Communicative content is included in and carried by the infrared ray. The projected infrared ray is received at the infrared ray receiving section provided at the inner view mirror. At the inner view mirror, on the basis of the communicative content included in and carried by the received infrared ray, a predetermined display (time, running distance of the vehicle, fuel remaining, outside temperature, inside temperature, a character broadcast such as text information or the like) is displayed on the inner view mirror, or the mirror angle adjustment device is operated to automatically adjust the angle of the mirror such that a rear field of view is optimal for the driver.
In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system for a vehicle according to the first aspect, wherein the first infrared ray projecting and receiving section is an infrared ray projecting and receiving section provided at the inner view mirror, the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section includes an infrared ray receiving section provided at the vehicle accessory and an infrared ray projecting section provided at a device for operating the vehicle accessory.
In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system for a vehicle according to the first aspect, wherein the first infrared ray projecting and receiving section is an infrared ray receiving section provided at the inner view mirror, the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section is an infrared ray projecting section provided at the vehicle accessory.
In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system for a vehicle according to the first aspect, wherein the first infrared ray projecting and receiving section includes an infrared ray receiving section and an infrared ray projecting and receiving section, which are provided at the inner view mirror, the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section includes an infrared ray projecting section provided at a first vehicle accessory and an infrared ray projecting and receiving section provided at second vehicle accessory.
In accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle accessory operating system of a vehicle according to the second aspect, wherein the operating device is at least one of: a display device for displaying information on the basis of the information received from the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section; and an driving device for driving at least one of the inner view mirror and the vehicle accessory on the basis of the information received from the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section.
In accordance with a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle accessory operating system of a vehicle according to the sixth aspect, wherein the first infrared ray projecting and receiving section is an infrared ray receiving section provided at the inner view mirror, the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section is an infrared ray projecting section provided at the vehicle accessory, the operating device is the display device for displaying the information received from the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section.
In accordance with a eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle accessory operating system of a vehicle according to the sixth aspect, wherein the first infrared ray projecting and receiving section is an infrared ray receiving section provided at the inner view mirror, the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section is an infrared ray projecting section provided at the vehicle accessory, the operating device includes the display device for displaying information received from the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section, and the driving device for driving the inner view mirror on the basis of the information received from the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section.
In accordance with a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle accessory operating system of a vehicle according to the sixth aspect, wherein the first infrared ray projecting and receiving section includes an infrared ray receiving section and an infrared ray projecting and receiving section, which are provided at the inner view mirror, the second infrared ray projecting and receiving section includes an infrared ray projecting section provided at a first vehicle accessory and an infrared ray projecting and receiving section provided at a second vehicle accessory, the operating device includes a first driving device for driving on the basis of information received from the infrared ray projecting section in the first vehicle accessory, and a second driving device for driving on the basis of information received from the infrared ray projecting and receiving section in the second vehicle accessory.